"It was my goal to put my name next to them," Tommy Paul joins elite list of American legends lifting the Queen’s Club trophy

Tommy Paul achieved a nerve-wracking triumph over Lorenzo Musetti in the final of the ATP 500 Queen’s Club Championships, winning 6-1, 7-6(8), and joined a select group of Americans who have won the traditional London tournament.

Since the start of the Open Era, Tommy Paul is the 9th American player to win the Queen’s title. The 27-year-old will match his career-best ATP ranking as world No. 12, making him the new American No. 1, displacing Taylor Fritz who falls one position behind.

The 5th seed of the tournament had an outstanding week to secure the third title of his career and his first grass-court tournament. It is also the most important title of his career, being his first ATP 500 victory.

During an unforgettable week for Paul, he achieved easy wins over Sebastian Baez and Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets, before facing home-favorite Jack Draper, who was on a streak of seven consecutive grass-court wins after winning his first title at the Stuttgart Open a week earlier. In a hard-fought match, he defeated the Brit in three sets.

Later, in the semifinals, he faced his compatriot Sebastian Korda and avenged his loss to Korda a week earlier. The final was not easy for Paul, but he ultimately overcame Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 7-6(8): “It was nervy to close out the match. It got tricky at the end. This is the perfect way to go to Wimbledon.”

Paul joins other legends of American tennis as Queen’s Club Championships champion, including players like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, and Andy Roddick, among others: "Hearing about the names [of previous winners] in the locker room, it is unbelievable. It was my goal to put my name next to them," Paul said. "Thank you to my whole team."

“I want to congratulate Lorenzo on a good week. He’s been playing amazing tennis,” Paul said. “I’m happy to get the win today. I’m happy to share the court with you,” the new world No. 12 said. “This is the perfect way to go to Wimbledon.”